Apparatus for coaling vessels at sea.



P. MGDOWALL.

APPARATUS FOR GOALING VBSSELS AT SBA. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 22, 1909.

977,464. Patented Dec. 6, 1910,

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

P. MOD'OWALL. APPARATUS FOR UOALINJ- VESSBLS AT SEA. APPLIGATKIO-N FILED NOV. 22, 1909.

977,464. Patented 1390.6, 1910.

' 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

P. MGDOWALL. 'APPARATUS PoR GOALING 'vEssELs AT'SBA.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 22, 1909.

Pantea Dec.6,1'910.

s SHEETS-snm a..

UNrrED srnasnrrnnr onirica..

PETER MCDOWALL, OF WEST CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHRE, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO CHESTER L. PIPER, OF WEST CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

APPARATUS FOR COALING VESSELS A'I SEA.

n Specification of Letters Patente,

Application led November 22, 1909.

Patenten Dec. 6, 1910.

Serial N0. 529,428.

To all 107mm 'it 'may concern: .Y

Be it known that l, .PETER MoDowALL, a subject ot the King of Great Britain, residing al vest Concord, in the county of Merrimack and State of New 'Hampshire, have invented certain new and useful lmproements in lpmratus for Coaling Vessels at Sea, oil whici the following is a specification.

This invention relates to mechanism for coaling vessels at sea, and one of the principal objects of the invention is to provide reliable and etlicient means for conveying coal from the hold of a collier to the hold of a vessel lashed to'the collier and lying alongside of the same.

Another obj ect of the invention is to provide a carriage having wheels mounted upon tracks at the sides of the hatchway of the collier and a turntable mounted upon said carriage, said turntable carrying an endless conveyer and a telescopic chute,- means being provided for rotating the turntable to discharge coal at any point radially Vfrom the center of the hold of the collier.

Still another object. of the invention is to provide a carriage longitudinally movable over the hatehway of the collier, a rotatable turntable mounted 011 the carriage, an endless conveyor adjustable on the turntable to extend any required distance in the hold, said conveyor carrying at its upper end a telescopic chute comprising a series of members connected together, and means for operating the conveyor and the chute at the will of an operator.

Another object of the invention is to' provide reliable and efcientmeans for coaling vessels atsea, which will not'be rendered inoperative in rough weather and which will be provided with means to continuously discharge the `coal from the collier to the vessel while they are both lashed together and under way.

These and other objects may be attained by means of the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is side elevation and partial vertical section of an apparatus made in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1 looking down. Fig. 3 is an 4enlarged side elevation of the mechanism for operating the conveyerand for rotating the turntable. Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the pinion and ring for rotating the turntable. V

Referring to the drawino's the numeral 1 designates a deck of a colher, 2 are the bulwai \s and 3 a hatchway leading to the hold. Secured to the deck 1 ot' the collier at opposite sides of the' hatchway 3 is a rail or track 4t. Rails 5 are also secured to the deck 1 at points adjacent to the bulwarks 2. A carriage G of rectangular form provided with suitable uprights 7 Wheels 8, adapted to run upon the track .rails 4. The uprights 7 are braced to the truck by corner braces 9 at the lower ends of said uprights, while at the upper ends diagonal braces 10 are bolted at 11, the lower ends of said braces being provided with grooved wheels 12 jQurnaled in the bifurcated lower ends of said diagonal braces, said wheels bei-ng adapted to run upon the rails 5 and to serve to brace the carriage and prevent the same from tipping in use.

Mounted upon the carriage 6 is a ball bearing ring 13 provided with an annular groove, in which bearing balls 14 are mounted. Supported upon the balls 14 is a bearing ring 15 also provided with an annular groove in which the balls 14 are adapted to run. Secured to the ring l5 is an interior-ly cogged ring or annulus 1G provided with interior cogged teeth 17 for a purpose which will presently be explained. The ring 16 has secured to its upper side a` brace ring 1.8. These three rings 15, 16, and 18 are secured together by y,means of bolts extending through registering holes in each of the rings. As shown in Fig. 4 bolt holes 19 are formed in the ring 16 and similar holes are ormedin the rings 15 and 18. Connected in any suitable manner to ythese rings are uprights 20 and 21. Also supported upon the rings is a pair of standards 22 spaced apart a suiiicient distance to permit the conveyer to pass'betvveen them. Connected to the uprights 20 and 21 and to the standards 22 is a pair of ciroular'brace members 23 which are spaced apart, and journaled 'between said braces at intervals around the same aregrooved rollers 211said rollers running upon the circular track 25 bolted at 26 to side bars 27 and end bars 28 secured to the uprights .7 of the carriage. The standards 22 are bra/ced from the uprights 2O by means of a diagonal brace 9.9. The

connected to the. base or truck members, 1s provided withturntable is provided with a suitable opening which leads into the hold of the collier.

The endless conveyer comprises rails 3l suitably spaced apart and provided at their lower endsv with a sprocket wheel 3Q journaled upon an extended shaft 33. Secured to the rails 31 are bearing members 33X pro- 'vided with suitable anti-friction rollers 34 adapted to run upon the standards 2Q. At a point low down upon the rails 3l is a similar bearing member 35 also provided with antifriction rollers 36 adapted to bear upon the sides of the standards 22. The endless conveyer 37 is provided with suitable buckets "ofthe rails 31 and an idler .sprocket 40 .mounted upon a frame 4l extending outward from oneof the rails 3l. The chain 38 also passes around a sprocket 32 at the lower ends of the rail 31, which operates the lower roller for the conveyer. This chain is operated by means of a sprocket wheel 42 secured to the shaft 43 provided with 'a .cranked portion 44, to which is attached the connecting rod 45 leading from the piston 46 of a suitable motor or engine 47, supported upon the turntable. The shaft 43 is provided with a beveled gear 48 adapted to mesh with a similar gear 49 mounted upon a vertical shaft 50, said shaft carrying a pinion lfwhich meshes with'v the teeth 17 of the annulus 16 for rotating `the turntable. A suitable clutch operated by the lever 52 is .utilized for throwingthe beveled gears 48 and 49 into and out of mesh when desired.

Connected to the upper end of the conveyer rails 31 is a chute; comprising a [laringreceiver 53 connected by means of suitable braces 54 to said conveyer rails. The receiver 53 is disposed in an inclined position and connected to the lower end thereof is one of the sections 55 of a iexible telescopic chute. Connected to the section 55 is a similar but larger section 56. Connected to the section 56 is a' similar' section 57 of larger size and this chute is made up in this way of any suitable number of sections connected in any suitable manner to render the entire chute flexible and the sections telescopic to thus allow for the varying movements of the vessel and. to change the direction of the coal [lowing through said chute. At the lower end of the chute is a similar section 58 of still larger size, thus permitting the sections to be teleseoped, one within the other. For telescoping this chute a cable 59 is connected to a bracket 60 on the lower section 58, said cable passing through an eye (il on the adjacent section 5T and over a roller 62 on the receiver 53. The cable'thence extends over a roller on one of the conveyor' rails, over a roller 63 on the braces 29 and thence extends downward to a winding drum G4 supported upon the turntable. '.lhe winding drum G4 is provided with an extended shaft 65 operated by means of a beveled gear 6G adapted to be 'thrown into mesh with a similar gear 67 on the shaft 43 by means of a suitable clutch GS.

For raising and lowering the Conveyer a cable 69 is connected to the rails 3l by l' means of a suitable bracket T0. said cable passing over the roller Tl journaled between the standards Q2 at their upper ends, said cable extending down around a pulleyl 72 on one of the uprights 2O and from thence to the cable extending around a windlass or windingdrum T3 provided with a shaft having` a large gear wheel 74 thereon, said gear wheel meshing with gears T5 which mesh with a gear wheel 7G on the shaft 43. kThe gear wheel T4 may be thrown into and out of mesh with one of the gears '75 by means of a suitable clutch Ti'.

The operation of the invention may be briefly describedas follows: The vessel to be loaded with coal is lashed at the side of the collier and if desired the collierA and the vessel may be um; er wa)Y when the transfer of coal is made. The lower vend of the chute is inserted in the hold of the vessel and the motor -lT is started to take the coal from the hold of the collier and carry it up by'vnie'ans of the conveyor and discharge it into the receiver 53, from which it falls by gravity through the chute into the hold of the vessel. The chute being flexible and telescopiewill allow for the rising and f-alling of the vessel relatively to the collier.

in order to discharge the coal. at. differentpoints in the hold, the turntable may be operated by means o t the clutch to turn the table. and swing the chute whenever re quired. As the hold of the vessel becomes more filled with coal. the chute is raised by means of the cable 59 and the winding drum 34. lVhen it 1s desired to move the chute.

longitudinally of the vessel, the carriage is 5 track, diagonal braces connected to said carrlage, grooved wheels Journaled to said braces. tracks on 'which said wheels are mounted to run, a turn-table mounted to rotate on said carnage, mechanism for rotat- "l0 ingl said turn-table, a conveyer adjustably 'mounted on said turn-table, and mechanism for adjusting` said conveyer.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, a carriage mounted upon a track 15 and provided with a series of upriglits, side and end bars secured to said uprights, a circular track secured to said bars, a turntable provided with uprights, a circular brace member connected to said uprgbts 20 and rollers mounted on said circular brace to engage the circular track, said turntable mounted to rotate on said carriage.

In an apparatus of the character' described, a carriage provided with Wheels and mounted to mo\ ou rails, said carriage provided with uprigbts, a turntable mounted to rotate on said carriage, Saidturntable provided with uprightsgrooved rollers mounted on the uprights of the turntable, a circular track mounted on the upriglits of the carriage, and diagonal braces provided with grooxed rollers at their lower ends bearin upon tracks at the sides of the carriage.

In testimony whereof I aix my Signature in presence of tu'o Witnesses.

PETER MCDOWAL'L. Y

lVitnesses:

AGNES J, MUncrur., ALI-:XANDER MURCHIE.

sol 

